Petrochemical feedstocks, such as alkylation unit feedstocks, may include impurities. The impurities may have been added to one or more components of the respective stream in previous processing for a variety of purposes or the impurities may be present in raw materials, for example.
Unfortunately, petrochemical catalysts generally experience a reduction in activity upon exposure to reaction. The impurities may poison the catalyst, therefore requiring more frequent regeneration and/or replacement of such catalyst.
Therefore, a need exists to minimize the concentration of impurities in petrochemical feedstocks.